Sales drop to weigh down Poundland profit figures

The outgoing boss of Poundland, Jim McCarthy, is to unveil his final set of full-year figures on Thursday after a testing year for the chain ­following sales falls and a ­difficult £55million takeover of rival 99p Stores.
Poundland's underlying pre-tax profits have dropped 11 per cent. Picture: ContributedPoundland's underlying pre-tax profits have dropped 11 per cent. Picture: Contributed
Poundland's underlying pre-tax profits have dropped 11 per cent. Picture: Contributed

The group is expected to report an 11 per cent drop in underlying pre-tax profits to £38.7m for the year to March 27, with sales declines rising in the final six months.

The group issued a warning on profits in ­January after Christmas ­trading was hit by poor numbers of shoppers on the high street, and trading has remained under pressure since then.

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Andrew Porteous, analyst at HSBC, said: “It may take some time for the business to ­stabilise like-for-like growth, given momentum and lead times in ordering seasonal stock.”

Porteous added that the “strategic intentions” of incoming chief executive and former B&Q UK and Ireland boss Kevin O’Byrne “will also be key in the longer term”.

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